Koha System

Koha Theme Builder™ FAQ

Answers to common questions about Koha Theme Builder™ availability, setup, compatibility, publishing workflow, and boundaries.

April 15, 2026 3 min read

This FAQ answers the most common questions librarians ask about Koha Theme Builder™.

Is Theme Builder a plugin or a deployment-specific feature?

Theme Builder is a Koha plugin product available on KohaSupport Standard and Enterprise deployments, whether launched self-service in your AWS account or delivered with guided implementation.

Does Theme Builder require coding?

No. Most configuration is done through plugin settings and structured fields.

Can librarians use it without a developer?

Yes. The workflow is designed for library administrators and content owners.

Does it survive Koha upgrades?

Theme Builder is maintained by KohaSupport for supported Standard and Enterprise deployments, with upgrade compatibility validation.

Can we use it on self-hosted Koha?

Not as a standalone install on third-party/self-hosted stacks. It is available on all three KohaSupport tiers (Free, Standard, Enterprise), whether launched self-service in your AWS account or delivered with guided implementation.

Is it available by tier?

Yes. Theme Builder ships on all three KohaSupport tiers, with different levels of access:

Tier	Access
Free	Preview only — browse the theme picker and see how each family looks, but cannot activate or apply a theme
Standard	Full access — activate, configure, and publish. Ships with 8 theme presets across 5 families
Enterprise	Full access — activate, configure, and publish. Ships with 13 theme presets across 5 families (the Standard 8 plus 5 additional presets suited to multi-branch and flagship institutions)

Is it enabled by default?

Theme Builder is included on all three tiers. On Standard and Enterprise, it is not enabled automatically unless you set ActivatePlugin=true in the CloudFormation parameters at launch time. On Free, the plugin installs in preview-only mode and does not require explicit activation to browse themes.

ActivatePlugin=true at launch — plugin activates automatically during bootstrap, after the Koha web installer completes.
ActivatePlugin=false (default) — activate manually post-launch via:
- SSM Automation (no SSH): Run Koha-Configure-ThemeBuilder-{StackName} from AWS Systems Manager → Automation using KohaAutomationRoleArn and KohaSSMCommandDocName from your stack CloudFormation Outputs.
- CLI via Session Manager: Connect and run sudo /opt/kohasupport/bin/ks-plugin-install library

For existing environments not deployed from AWS Marketplace, activation is available by request.

Can different branches have different presets?

Branch-specific appearance depends on your environment configuration and permissions. Start with a global baseline, then apply controlled branch overrides where needed.

Can we revert to a previous design?

If your environment has rollback/version support enabled, yes. Otherwise, use a documented manual rollback workflow.

Does Theme Builder affect the staff interface?

No. Theme Builder targets the OPAC patron-facing experience.

Can we still use Koha native tools like OPACUserCSS, OPACUserJS, Pages, and OpacNav?

Yes, but avoid overlapping changes in the same UI area without a clear ownership rule.

If you are migrating from old CSS Audit old OPACUserCSS/OPACUserJS first and remove obsolete overrides after Theme Builder configuration is validated.